Good Grief!—Answers

Here are the answers to my earlier post.

Today’s first question relates to a cartoonist born on this date, November 26th. The remaining questions are on a comic strip theme.

One

Which cartoonist, pictured above, created the comic panel published weekly from 1947 to 1950 under the title Li’l Folks, and what name was given to his new syndicated strip that launched in 1950 and ran until 2000?

Answer: Charles M. Schulz; Peanuts

Li’l Folks was a weekly single-panel feature Schulz produced for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. When he began national syndication in 1950, he launched a new strip drawing on similar themes—but United Feature Syndicate renamed it Peanuts, a title Schulz himself never liked. It went on to become one of the most influential comic strips of all time.

The catchphrase of Charlie Brown, the principal character of the comic strip Peanuts is ‘Good grief!’, hence the post title.

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Two

What was created by a Belgian cartoonist in 1929 featured a young reporter embarking on globe-spanning adventures? This character became a cornerstone of European comics. Who was the cartoonist?

Answer: The Adventures of Tintin; Hergé

Hergé’s clear-line (ligne claire) drawing style shaped generations of European artists. Tintin books have been translated into over 70 languages, making the character one of the world’s best-travelled cartoon heroes.

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Three

First published in 1959, what is the name of the diminutive Gaulish warrior whose strength comes from a magic potion brewed by a druid, and what is the druid’s name?

Answer: Asterix; Getafix

Created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Asterix became a European cultural landmark. The first animated film, Asterix the Gaul (1967), was produced without the creators’ knowledge—leading them to take direct control over later adaptations.

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Four

Which British stop-motion animated series, debuting in 1989, follows a farmer, his dog, and a mischievous flock of sheep in largely dialogue-free comedic stories? What other comedy series was this a spin-off of?

Answer: Shaun the Sheep; Wallace & Gromit

Aardman Animations in Bristol, UK, produced the show. Its universal physical humour, despite almost no spoken dialogue, made it popular worldwide.

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Five

In the Popeye comic strip, which character was originally intended to be the star before Popeye’s popularity took over?

Answer: Olive Oyl

When E.C. Segar created the comic strip Thimble Theatre in 1919, Olive Oyl and her boyfriend—and later her family—were the main characters. Popeye didn’t appear until 1929, a full decade later, but he became so popular that he soon took over the strip entirely, eventually transforming it into the Popeye series we know today.